


Lotus Blossom

by saphire_dance



Category: DCU, DCU - Comicverse
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-06
Updated: 2012-04-06
Packaged: 2017-11-03 04:23:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/377179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saphire_dance/pseuds/saphire_dance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Connor returns to the ghost city of W'eng Chun, this time with Roy in tow. He's not sure what he expects to find there but what he does find is quite a surprise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When the Lotus Blooms

**Author's Note:**

> This story gets it's name from the Green Arrow story line it riffs off of, Green Arrow V2 isssues 112-113, The Lotus Seed. In which Connor goes on a quest to a ghostly city in China and meets the mystical Lady Ren. The story is Connor/Roy starting out pre-slash, but moving towards an eventual relationship.

The journey back to W'eng Chun was a lot easier the time. For one Roy had no problem using JLA resources to get them close to their destination, and for another he was a much nicer traveling companion than Eddie had been. He was also a lot more handsome than Eddie, but then Connor was a little biased.

They arrived with plenty of time and set up a nice camp. Roy had said that even if Lady Ren didn't show up they could at least have a nice trip. As much as Connor knew he would enjoy camping with Roy, he really hoped she would show. People would believe Roy if he told them about Lady Ren and her ghostly city. Now the were just sitting next to their campfire, waiting for the moon to rise.

Roy nudged Connor's shoulder with his own. “You nervous?”

“A little. I'm glad you came, I know you don't believe this is real, and quite frankly now that I'm here I'm worried that all I'm doing right now is proving that I'm crazy.”

“I believe you.” Connor was more than a little surprised to hear that. “Don't look at me like that. You've never been a liar, and I have seen some freaky, freaky stuff in my time as a hero.”

“I... Thank you, Roy, this really means a lot to me.”

Roy clapped him on the shoulder. “I know, man, I know”

When the moon rose high, Connor used the key on the gate. He couldn't help but sigh as the gate opened, and the ghost city appeared as he remembered it. They entered cautiously ready in case Lady Ren's brother attacked as he had last time Connor had been her.

“Lady Ren!”Connor called but their was no answer save the chirping of birds

“Looks like your girlfriend's not home.” Roy was smirking so Connor just glared at him

They continued down the path Connor hoping she would be near the fountain where they had made love. Connor had never been sure why he decided to make love to Lady Ren. So many woman had thrown themselves at him before and after and Connor was hoping that seeing her again might give him some clue as to what he had really wanted.

The courtyard appeared empty at first glance, and Connor was ready to give up and leave when he heard the first squalling cry. He met Roy's eyes and they both ran quickly towards the sound. They found a cradle nestled among some flowers, a infant maybe six months old fussing within. A baby with Connor's dark skin and green eyes. 

Connor just stared in shock, counting back the months, and yes the math was right for the baby to be his. Eventually the tableau was broken as the baby let out another cry. Connor picked the child up trying to sooth away the tears. That's when Roy started laughing. “This isn't funny Roy. What am I supposed to do with a baby? I can't be a parent! I'd make a terrible parent.”

“It's a little too late for that now, Connor.” Roy came closer smoothing the dark hair off the child's forehead and checking under the diaper. “So now may not be the time to say this, but you're not going to have to worry about people thinking your a virgin anymore.”

“Roy!”

“Sorry, sorry. You're having a crisis here, and I'm not helping. Look, it'll be alright. It's not the first time one of us has had an unexpected baby dropped on us. I just figured we'd see another one of Ollie's by-blows before you ever got some girl in a family way.”

“Oh,” Connor hadn't thought this would ever happen to him either. “Roy, what am I going to do?”

“Well first thing you're going to do is learn how to change a diaper,” the face Roy made at that was fairly amusing. “And then were going to go back to our camp. In the morning we'll head home and introduce your son to the rest of the family.” Roy wrapped an arm around Connor's shoulders, pulling him into a hug, and kissing his forehead. "We'll get through this together, okay?

“My son,” Connor looked down at the baby in his arms, cuddling him close, and nuzzling his hair. “My son.”

Between the two of them the managed to figure out how to fold and fasten the cloth diapers that had been left in a satchel next to the cradle. There was a parchment scroll as well as a few other small items that obviously belonged to the child. Connor had no doubt the scroll would tell him the name Lady Ren had chosen for their son, but it would have to wait until they returned to civilization to find someone who could read it for him. They gathered up the baby's things and headed back towards the gate. Connor turned one last time, searching for any sign of Lady Ren, or her brother. He saw nothing but a small fox, which howled mournfully before it turned, and disappeared into the underbrush.


	2. Nature, and Nurturing

Morning did not come soon enough for Connor. It did come early, though the baby started crying soon after sunrise. After Connor put a clean diaper on his son, he was still fussy..

“He's probably hungry.”

Connor nodded, bowing to Roy's expertise in the matter. “What do we feed him? We don't have anything to feed him.” Connor didn't think it would be a good idea to wait until they hiked back to the transport site, and beamed back to civilization to feed him.

Roy squeezed Connor's shoulder reassuringly. “I think he's old enough that the instant oatmeal we brought will be fine.”

Connor walked back, and forth, rocking his son while Roy heated the water to make the oatmeal. It took less time than Connor had anticipated. Roy merely shrugged at Conner's questioning look “Didn't want it to be too hot. We don't have any spoons small enough for him to use, but if you wash your hands you should be able to feed him with your fingers.”

Connor handed his son over to Roy carefully, and washed his hands with some of the water they had brought with them. Roy was making silly faces at the baby, and Connor felt a slight pang at how easily fatherhood came to Roy.

Connor took his son back, and scooped some oatmeal up with his index finger. The baby happily gummed the food off Connor's finger. It took him awhile to eat his fill, and Roy was almost done breaking camp by the time they were done. Roy draped a towel over his shoulder. “Here hand him to me, and get yourself something to eat.” Connor handed him up to Roy, and grabbed his own breakfast. Connor watched carefully as Roy walked around, gently patting the baby's back.

Roy sat down next to him. “I can see you thinking, you know?”

Connor studied his bowl of oatmeal for a moment before replying. “I suppose I find myself jealous of your natural parenting abilities.”

Roy laughed,. “Nothing natural about it, man. If you had known me when I first got Lian, you'd realize that. I probably looked as poleaxed then as you do now.”

“I'm sorry,” Connor frowned. “It must have been very difficult for you.”

“It was. It'll be easier for you, though. You at least have someone in your life who's actually taken care of a baby before.” Roy smiled at him, and nudged him with his shoulder.

Connor smiled back at him. “At this point I need all the help I can get.”

“You'll get it. I promise. Now let's pack the rest of this stuff up, and head back to civilization I, for one, cannot wait to see the look on Ollie's face when he sees his new grandkid.”

“Oh, I... hmmm,” Connor hadn't really given much thought to what his father was going to think of his current predicament. “We ought to stop and get a video camera before we find him. I think a lot of people will be interested in seeing his face at that moment.”

Roy clapped Conner on the shoulder. “That is an excellent idea, my friend. Now let's get moving.”


	3. Family and Friends

The hike from W'eng Chun back to the Justice League transport site took a bit more time than the hike in. Roy wished they had left the heavy, carved wood cradle behind, but seeing how the ghost city had disappeared, Roy decided not to argue when Connor wanted to bring everything Lady Ren had left with the baby. Roy didn't mention it to Connor, but he had a pretty strong feeling that the boy was never going to see his mother again.

Roy shifted his grip on the cradle, and looked over at Connor. Connor walked slowly, choosing each step carefully. He held his son cradled close to his chest. Roy almost wanted to laugh at the expression on Connor's face, but it was far too easy for him to recall the absolute terror he had felt when Lian had come into his life. Roy couldn't help but smile as Connor stopped to cuddle the baby a little closer, ducking his head down to press a kiss to his son's forehead. Connor was going to be a wonderful father no matter what he thought about it.

Roy was overjoyed to find Dinah was on monitor duty when he called up for transport. The only thing that could have been better would have been if Ollie was there. The look on her face when she met them in the transport room had been priceless. Maybe if he begged sweetly he could get a copy of the surveillance footage.

Once Dinah got over the initial shock, she walked over to stand next to Connor, and stroke the baby's hair. “Oh Connor, what a beautiful baby.” Connor looked a little worried at the tears welling in Dinah's eyes, he didn't know her well enough yet to know she tended to cry when she was happy.

Of course Connor managed to say just the right thing to make her damp eyes turn into full fledged tears. “Would you like to hold your grandson?”

“I'd love to, Connor.” She took the now sleeping child from Connor, and began to rock gently back and forth.

“I'm sorry,” Connor said, reaching up to brush the tears from her face. “I didn't mean to make you cry.”

“No, no it's alright.” She took Connor's hand in her own, squeezing it briefly before going back to stroking the baby's hair. “I've thought of you as my son for awhile now. I just wasn't sure how I fit into your life. I'm honored you want me to be his grandmother”

Connor pulled her into a hug, taking care not to squeeze the baby too much. “Even if you weren't married to dad I would still think of you as family.”

“You know I feel the same way too, don't you?” Roy was pretty sure she knew that, as often as they spent time together even when neither of them were on speaking terms with Ollie. It just felt like the right moment to say it.

“Oh boy-o, if my arms weren't full I'd hug you too.”

Roy laughed with the joy of the moment. “Well my arms are free right now, so I guess I'll have to do the hugging for the both of us.” He wrapped an arm around Dinah, and the other around Connor. Dropping a kiss atop each of their heads he let himself enjoy the warmth, and closeness of his family. Eventually the boy started to wake up from his nap, and the hug broke up. 

“I'm going to head down, and pick up Lian and a few supplies for the kid. There's probably some stuff in the disaster relief supplies that you can use until I get back.” Roy turned his attention to Dinah. “He's completely overwhelmed right now. Think you can watch out for him for me?”

“You know I can. Come on, Connor, lets get this little guy checked out in the med bay, and get your dad and Mia up here.” Dinah led Connor out the door and deeper into the satellites labyrinth corridors. “The last thing Roy heard as they walked out was Dinah asking, “So does this grandson of mine have a name?”

It took Roy a bit longer than he had wanted it to for him to get back up too the watchtower. Lian said she knew the perfect place to find a gift for the baby, and she had been right. In addition to the diapers, and formula he'd originally set out to get he had two small teddy bears one dressed in Connor's Green Arrow costume, and the other, at Lian's insistence, in Roy's Red Arrow costume.

He found Connor sitting in the corner of the mess hall, Wonder Woman, Zatanna, and Vixen crowded around cooing over the baby. Roy probably should have mentioned to Connor how much of a chick magnet a baby could be, but considering how uncomfortable he looked right now it was probably better that he hadn't.

Roy set his presents down on a table that had another gift added to it every time Wally zipped in, and out of the room. “Running errands?” Roy asked when Wally paused to set another gift down.

“Yeah, when word got around everyone wanted to be here to see Ollie's reaction. And since it turned into an impromptu party, I've been picking up baby shower gifts.” Wally did a quick lap around the room before coming back to finish talking to Roy. “Looks like I picked up something for everybody. Man, I can't believe Kyle is going to miss this.”

Roy felt twinge of guilt at being glad Kyle was off planet. Kyle was Connor's friend, and that trumped Roy's petty jealousy. “Yeah well, he's the one that wanted to move to outer space. Guess we'll just have to send him the video.” Roy looked over to where Lian was slowly circling closer to Connor, and the baby. “I've got to go introduce Lian to her new cousin. Catch me later, okay, we can see about getting the kids together again sometime.”

Roy headed over towards Connor picking Lian up from where she was cautiously peeking at Connor from behind a chair. “Has Uncle Dick been teaching you sneaking again?”

“Yep. He says it's important to be able to stay out of sight until you want to be seen.” Roy still wasn't sure teaching his daughter all these little vigilante tricks was a good thing. On one hand he wanted her to be safe if villains ever came knocking on their door again, but on the other hand keeping her safe meant not letting her run around as a teenage vigilante, and if he taught her to be safe for the first situation he was never going to be able to keep her out of the second.

“You ready to go say hi to your cousin.?” 

“Uh-huh. Do you think Uncle Connor will let me hold him?”

“I don't know, sweetie. Why don't we ask him.” Roy carried Lian over to where Connor was sitting. Zee and Mari had wandered off, and Dinah had come to sit with him. He set Lian down and she immediately climbed into Dinah's lap. “Hey bro, you doing alright?”

“Hi Uncle Connor. Can I hold your baby?”

Connor smiled at Lian, and Roy had to push back thoughts of how gorgeous Connor was. “I'm good, Roy. His name is Zheng, Lian, and yes you can hold him if you let Dinah help.” Connor handed The baby solemnly over to Lian making sure her hand was under his neck, and that Dinah's arms were under hers. Roy pulled his camera out of his pocket, and snapped a picture of them. 

“Zheng huh? You found someone up here to translate that scroll?”

“Yes. The dialect was too obscure for J'onn, and Clark, but Diana could read it.” Connor nodded in Diana's direction. “Thank you again for that.”

Diana smiled back at him. “It was an honor to do so. It's a language I rarely get to practice my skill at.” Then she rose gracefully from her chair. “I'll leave you to your family now. Congratulations on the new addition to your family.”

“Quite the party for the little guy. You lucked out, man.”

Connor scoffed, “They're only here to see dad's reaction to my having a kid”

“Oh Connor that's terribly cynical of you,” Dinah said. “You were one of us too, and the League takes care of their own.”

“She's got a point they may be here to see Ollie's reaction, but those presents piled up over there are for their friend.” It really was an impressive stack of presents. Roy wasn't sure without looking through things carefully, but he was willing to bet Connor wasn't going to need to buy anything for Zheng, but diapers, and formula for the next year or so.

“Alright, alright you win. I think I'm just nervous about what dad is going to say. What if he doesn't want to be a grandfather.”

“Uncle Connor,” Lian broke in to the conversation. “You can have your baby back now. He falled asleep.” Zheng had indeed fallen asleep while Lian had been holding him. Connor picked him up gently from Lian's arms trying not to wake him.

“Fell asleep, Lian,” Roy corrected absently. He glanced around the room, looking for something or someone who could keep her entertained, and noticed that Wally had brought Linda, and the twins up at some point. “Why don't you go play with Iris, and Jai while we wait for Uncle Ollie, and Aunt Mia to get here.”

“Yay,” Lian cried out, jumping off Dinah's lap, and heading off towards the twins. She stopped after a few steps, and turned around. “Oh, and Uncle Connor, you don't have to worry about Uncle Ollie wanting to be a grandpa. He's already my grandpa.” Then she turned, and dashed across the room to her friends.

They stared after her, shocked into silence for a moment until Dinah started laughing. “Out of the mouths of babes. Here hand my grandson back over to me. I'll go show him off while you relax a little.”

“Dinah, you don't have too,” Connor protested.

Roy placed his hand on Connor's shoulder, and attempted to look as serious as possible. “Connor one of the most important things you need to learn about being a single parent is this: If someone you trust offers to babysit your kid you say 'yes, thank you,' and you hand the kid over as fast as possible.”

Connor handed Zheng over reluctantly, and Dinah wandered off, introducing the little boy to the various league members in attendance. “Is it wrong that I don't want to let him out of my sight?”

Roy smirked, and made an effort to stop watching Lian with his peripheral vision. “No. If I could I'd keep Lian where I could watch over her all the time, but that wouldn't be healthy for either one of us. Relax, okay, you're in a room full of super heroes.”

Connor laughed then. “Somehow that makes me worry more rather than less. Or have you forgotten dad's wedding already?”

Roy was about to reply when a shout came from near the door. “Hey everyone Ollie's here.” Connor stood quickly, knocking over his chair in his haste to be there when Ollie saw Zheng for the first time. Roy was right behind him. He wouldn't want to miss this for the world.

Unfortunately for them Dinah had been closer to the door, and the first thing Ollie saw, in the midst of what was obviously a baby shower, was Dinah holding a child that was obviously not hers. “Now, pretty bird, I don't know what they've been telling you, but that one definitely isn't mine.” 

“No, dad, he's not yours. He's mine.”

Ollie looked back and forth between Connor and the baby, seeing the now obvious resemblance. He started laughing then, pulling Connor into a hug tight enough that he lifted Connor's feet off the ground. “That's my boy” Ollie set Connor back down, slapping him on the back. “Now where did that Flash kid get off to. I need to send him down to buy a round of drinks for everyone before I try, and pry my grandson away from Dinah. Does he have a name yet, son?”

“Yes. On the paperwork it'll be Nathan Zheng Hawke, but I'd like to call him Zheng, that's the name his mother gave him.”

Ollie tugged at his beard. “After your grandpa, of course. Zheng, though... His mother wasn't a super villain now was she?”

“Dad!” Connor looked absolutely scandalized.

“Hey, now!” Roy had to tell himself not to get too angry at Ollie. He had probably been referring to Shado just as much as he meant Cheshire.

“Sorry, Roy. It needs to be asked. I don't think any of us have chosen the best mother's for our children.” Ollie seemed to realize what he had said then, something that never used too happen. Roy figured it had more to do with Connor's skill at making kicked puppy eyes than Ollie getting more tactful as he grew older. “No offense to your mother, Connor, but well you know... Oh there's Wally now, I'll get back to you boy's later.”

Connor stared after Ollie as he retreated across the room. “I'm going to be hearing that a lot aren't I?”

Roy squeezed Connor's shoulder. “Probably. I think people are going to think that if you're enough like me, and Ollie to have a surprise baby dropped on you that maybe you're enough like us to have terrible taste in women as well.”

“I know that I used to think you were the only sensible one until now.” Mia said as she came over, and hugged Connor. “He's gorgeous, Connor, but, seriously, didn't you learn anything from how Ollie, and Roy ended up as fathers.”

Connor blushed, and sighed. “It's complicated, Mia. I'm not sure I'll ever understand the events that led to Zheng's conception, but he is my son, and I'm going to take care of him.” 

“I guess I've got to respect that, but just so you know I do not change diapers, and I do not babysit on weekends.” Mia hugged Connor again. “I see my Titans crew over there so I'm going to run. Congratulations.” Mia walked off to where some of the younger heroes were clustered around a table of refreshments.

“See I don't know what you were so worried about.” Of course Ollie's reaction had been a bit more sedate than Roy had expected.

Connor turned to look at Roy. “I didn't get a chance to tell you what else the scroll said. He won't... He can't ever go to see his mother, not without being trapped there with her. I just want him to be accepted by the rest of his family.”

Roy threw and arm around Connor's shoulder, and pulled him into a hug. “Connor, look around you. He's got the best family anyone could ask for. There isn't a single person in this room that wouldn't give their life for your son, and don't you ever forget it.” Roy hoped Connor could see what he did, not just their friends gathered to see Ollie's reaction to being a grandfather, but their friends gathered to celebrate a moment of happiness, when they normally only gathered together in moments of crisis.

Connor grinned at Roy. “You're right. It really is the best family.” They way Connor was looking right at him as he said that sparked something warm deep inside Roy, and he couldn't help, but grin back.

They stood smiling at each other, for what was probably too long, until they were interrupted by yet more people congratulating Connor. Roy slipped off into the crowd leaving Connor to deal with them on his own. Roy looked around the room once more admiring the number of people who had come to see the new addition to their little community. Little Zheng couldn't have asked for a better introduction to the world.


	4. Boys and Bedtime

Roy came down to the kitchen after tucking Lian in. She had had a pretty exciting day, with Connor having a impromptu baby shower up on the Watchtower, and now getting to sleep over at Ollie’s place. She hadn’t wanted to go to sleep at first, but once Roy started reading her a bedtime story she was out like a light. He loved when that happened it gave him a chance to cuddle and hold her without her getting all squirmy and grumpy about it.

He was surprised to find Connor sitting at the kitchen table. He had a mug of tea in his hands and was staring somewhat confusedly at the baby monitor on the table. “Zheng fall asleep okay?” Roy asked as he grabbed a beer out of the fridge, and sat down next to Connor.

“Yes, at least I think so. I mean he is asleep now, so...”

Roy tried not to laugh too much at Connor’s befuddled answer. “I think you better get some sleep too, man. He may not sleep all the way through the night yet, and you, my friend, are already exhausted.”

Connor bowed his head down, staring down into his teacup. “It’s been a very long day. I still can’t believe I let Dinah talk me into that party.”

Roy reached over and ruffled Connor’s hair marveling at how soft it was for a moment before sliding his hand down to massage Connor’s neck. “There isn’t a man in this family who can say ‘no’ to Dinah when she really wants something. Just remember to ask her to babysit to make it up to you.”

Connor groaned and pushed back into Roy’s touch. “I’m not going to blackmail Dinah into babysitting.”

“Connor, you’re a single dad, don’t think of it as blackmail think of it as desperate begging. It’ll be years until you get a decent nights sleep again. You need people you trust to watch over him once in awhile, otherwise you’ll go crazy.” If it weren’t for Dinah and the Titans...

“This is the voice of experience talking, I take it.” Connor smiled at Roy, his eyes glittering with laughter. Roy couldn’t help but grin back at him

“Yeah it is. I got one more piece of advice for you tonight. Sleep in my room tonight since yours is baby central right now. You’ll be up all night with every little sound he makes if you sleep in the same room.” The first few nights with Lian he had been jolted awake with every sound, and been filled with dread at every silence, and it wasn’t until he got things arranged well enough for her to sleep in her own room that he got at least a few hours of sleep.

Connor frowned. “I won’t kick you out of your bed, Roy”

“I wouldn’t let you, Connor. You should know by now the only reason we still have that God-awful, uncomfortable couch is so Ollie has incentive not to piss off Dinah.” Not that Ollie had had to sleep on the couch. It had taken him a long time, but Ollie had finally gotten his priorities straight. “Go to bed,” Roy said urging Connor out of the kitchen. “I’ll clean up down here, and be up later. Just remember I get the left side of the bed, okay.”

“Alright, I’m going.” Connor paused in the doorway a moment. “And, Roy, thank you.”

Roy just waved him off. He waited until he was sure Connor had gone upstairs before slumping down and hitting his forehead against the table. What had he been thinking inviting Connor to sleep with him? Connor was one of the most gorgeous men that Roy knew, and he knew a lot of good looking people. He was also completely off limits now. Roy had been hoping to use their little camping trip as a chance to see if Connor would be interested in a relationship, but once the baby came into the picture Roy had to let that idea go. He knew precisely how emotionally vulnerable Connor must be right now. He couldn’t take advantage of him. He’d just have to wait until Zheng was a little older, and Connor had settled into being a parent a little more. Connor would be more than worth waiting for.

Roy sighed and got up. He tossed his beer bottle into the recycling,rinsed out Connor’s mug and headed for the stairs. It was going to be a very long night for everyone.


	5. Fevers and Fumbling

It was three in the morning when Roy was awakened by Connor climbing into the bed. Connor lay down, practically on top of Roy, hiding his face against Roy's chest. Roy wrapped him up in a hug and stroked his back comfortingly. "Is Zheng okay?" Zheng had developed his first cold earlier in the day. Connor's new parent panic had been somewhat amusing, but it also reminded Roy of when he first got Lian, and he had no idea what to do. It made him glad he could be here for Connor like this. 

"He's fine, his fever broke a while ago. I just... I wanted to hold him for a little longer."

"Yeah, I get that." Roy missed being able to hold Lian like that. Nowadays she'd start to squirm and complain if he hugged her for too long. Zheng was still young enough that he wanted to be held close.

"I'm scared Roy. I've faced zombies, and super-villains, and I thought I knew what fear was, but I look down at that little boy, and I'm terrified."

Roy sighed. "I wish I could tell you it gets easier, Connor, but it doesn't. Every time I look at Lian I worry about her. Every time she picks up a bow, and I realize that someday she's going to be out there facing all the same things we have, I just want to wrap her up and keep her safe from everything."

Connor shifted up on to one elbow to look at Roy's face. "But you don't."

"I can't. I know nothing I do is going to stop her from growing up and being a hero. All I can do is help her grow strong and healthy, and make sure she's ready to face anything she finds out there." Roy cupped Connor's face with one hand. "This is probably not helping to ease your fears any, is it?"

"No," Connor nuzzled Roy's hand. "but I do feel better knowing you feel the same way. You've helped me a great deal since we found Zheng, and I want you to know that it means a lot to me."

"Hey, you'd do the same for me," Roy hoped his joking tone would break the tension of the moment he could feel growing between them, but it had been growing for too long now. Connor's kiss came as no surprise. Roy let his hands drift into Connor's hair, and he savored the kiss for one long, sweet moment before he pushed Connor away gently. "We shouldn't be doing this..."

Connor sat up immediately. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'll... I'll go back to my room now."

Roy caught Connor's wrist before he could get off the bed. "I meant right now. You've been up all night with a sick baby, and this is a conversation we need to have in the light of day." Roy coaxed Connor to lie back down and rest his head on Roy's shoulder. "Get some sleep, okay, and we'll talk about you, and me tomorrow." 

Connor sighed, and snuggled into Roy's embrace "Roy, thank you, for everything."

Roy chuckled, and kissed Connor's forehead. "You're welcome, now go to sleep." Roy hoped what Connor was feeling was more than gratitude, he was almost certain it was more than that, but that conversation would, as he had said, have to wait until tomorrow.


	6. Mornings and Make-outs

Connor woke when the sunlight pooled far enough into the room to shine on his face. The bed was empty, but that was no surprise, it had to be fairly late in the morning for the sun to be shining through the bedroom window. He stretched out in the bed and thought about what had happened last night. The memory of the brief kiss he had shared with Roy was enough to bring a smile to his face.

He'd wanted to kiss Roy for so long. He's still couldn't believe he'd done it. Roy hadn't let the kiss last but Connor couldn't help but hope things would be different today. How could it not when he had fallen asleep in Roy's arms. 

Connor got up and headed down stairs. He was surprised at how quiet it was. With as many people that lived there the house was usually quite lively. At first he thought everyone had gone out, but then he found Roy in the kitchen feeding Zheng his lunch. He leaned in the doorway for a moment watching them. There was something about seeing Roy with his son that always pulled at his heart. 

Roy looked up and saw him standing there. "Hey"

"Hey, where is everyone?"

Roy smiled at him. "Mia went down to visit the Titans for the weekend, and Ollie and Dinah volunteered to take Lian down to one of the theme parks since they were headed that way to drop Mia off. So it's just you, me, and the baby til Sunday evening."

A whole weekend together with only Zheng to worry about. Connor couldn't help the way his heart soared at the thought. "Did... Do you want to talk about last night?"

Roy laughed "Later, after you've eaten and Zheng goes down for his nap. Okay?"

"Okay." Connor got himself something to eat and once Zheng was done eating he took him back to his room to get him settled down for his nap.

Connor expected to find Roy still down in the kitchen, so he was a bit surprised to find Roy waiting for him at the door to their room. He was even more surprised after he followed Roy into the room only to have Roy crowd him back against the door and kiss him.

The kiss was everything Connor had dreamed of, all of Roy's strength and passion. He wrapped his arm's around Roy and opened himself to the kiss, welcoming Roy's tongue into is mouth with his own.

Connor was panting, and almost breathless by the time Roy pulled back from the kiss, and rested his forehead against Connor's. "I thought you wanted to talk."

"I want to talk. We need to talk. But, Connor." Roy kissed him, sweet, and quick. "There's so much else I want to do with you." 

"We could talk later," Connor whispered against Roy's lips as he tilted his head for another kiss.

"Oh wow." Roy took a step back and hid his face in his hands. "No, we need to talk. I need to know that we both want the same thing. That this isn't just you being grateful." 

"I love you." That at least got Roy to look at him again. "I love you and I want to be with you. Not because I'm grateful, and I am grateful, but because I love you and I've wanted this for a really long time."

"Connor, I..." Roy pulled him into another kiss before hugging him tight and hiding his face against Connor's shoulder. "I wanted to wait until Zheng was older, until you didn't need me anymore. I've been trying so hard to be good enough for you."

Roy hadn't said that he loved him but in a way he had. Connor felt entirely justified in tripping him onto the bed, and pinning him down. "I don't want you to be good for me, Roy, I want you."

Roy rolled them over settling himself above Connor. "You shouldn't say things like that, not unless..."

"I mean them. I do, you know.

"Connor..." Roy stared at him for a long moment. "Kid's going to be asleep for awhile, I suppose we could save the talking for later."

"We do have all weekend." Connor smiled up at Roy and pulled him down into another kiss.


End file.
